I’ve always felt remorse that I threatened to kill a shopworker over £15 bottle of gin

“I came out of the care system and it was just prison sentence, after sentence, after sentence for me.” These are the words of Michael Waring - a recovering addict who spent 14 years of his life in and out of jail.

The 34-year-old speaks to the ECHO from a new recovery hub centre in Walton, which has helped him "transform" his life around to become sober and clean. Michael, from Anfield, immediately puts forward he is no stranger to the newspaper having been “named and shamed” for his previous convictions.

The Scouser had punched a female shop assistant, giving her a black eye before threatening to kill her with a bottle of wine in 2019. The then-29-year-old was locked in the store after he tried to leave without paying for a £15 bottle of gin.

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Michael explained how, at the time, he was in a “desperate hole”, one he struggled to see a way out of it. He said: “I’ve been in the ECHO before, there’s no hiding or denying it. I’ve always felt remorse about that incident.

“I’m not a bad person but when I take drink and drugs my personality changes completely. It’s like I’m not myself anymore. It’s an illness and I’ve got it.

"Once I take something I can’t stop. I lost my drug of choice years ago. I was wanting everything - painkillers, methadone, spice - just anything to take feeling away from me.”

Michael, a Buddhist, is now two months into his recovery journey, having had his “worst relapse ever” earlier this summer. He had just gotten out of prison after being recalled for a license breach.

He added: “I’ve been to HM’s Frankland, I’ve been to a category A prison, I’ve been to all the categories. With the care system in Liverpool, it seems like the most natural step after is to go to prison. Not many children make it out of that system.

“When I got out in April, I was in a really bad way. I was homeless in the street and had no shoes on. I took a drink and one line of ket and that led to me running away for six weeks and using constantly. Just using over and over again.

“I was lying in the doorways in town, with nothing to my name. I was that beggar, that hopeless addict, the one you would walk past and not even give a second look at.”

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1 Step Recovery has been providing supported living accommodations and assistance for people like Michael, with substance misuse for five years now. The charity is the brainchild of Lyn Eaton and came about after the mum-of-one noticed gaps in the duty of care and felt like she could provide a more rounded service.

Lyn is hoping to help more people around Merseyside with the charity’s new drop-in-centre on County Road - whether that be through mental health support or working closely with social services to reunite children with their parents.

Michael is just one of hundreds the 1 Step Recovery team have helped this year. He said: “I’m six weeks clean and I want something more out of life. I want to give back to others now. I love rowing and I want to beat a record and I know I can because I’m an addict. I won’t stop till I’ve beaten it.

“I’m at the most balanced I’ve ever been since coming off those streets and out of that hole. I’m waking up grateful and appreciating life.

"But don’t get I’ve still got that cunning voice inside my head telling me to throw everything away for a bag. That's how serious this illness is, it’s not a choice, it’s an illness that wants me dead. That’s it, plain and simple.”